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I am curious about the words "considering", "given", and "even though", because they seem to help me build sentences, but I don't know how they work.

Some example sentences:

She can speak English quite well, considering that she only started learning it one year ago.

She can speak English quite well, even though she only started learning it one year ago.

I'll let you rewrite the test, given your special circumstances.

I know that conjunctions like "because" can be used to build sentences in a similar way:

I'll let you rewrite the test, because of your special circumstances.

Wikitionary says that considering and given are prepositions. But I know "because" is a conjunction, and wiktionary says that even though is also a conjunction (and not a preposition).

Questions:
1. What is the difference between how prepositions ("considering", "given") are building these sentences, versus the conjunctions ("because", "even though")?
2. Can many other verbs (other than "to consider" and "to give") be made into prepositions?

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2 Answers 2

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Those words are subordinating conjunctions. They can become prepositions when followed by an object rather than a dependent clause.

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  • Note the highlighted word in this line from the link that you provided "Some subordinating conjunctions, when used to introduce a phrase instead of a full clause, become prepositions with identical meanings." I can't think of any examples with because. Could you please edit your question to add an example? Note that because of is a preposition.
    – JavaLatte
    Jan 10, 2021 at 3:15
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I'll let you rewrite the test, because you were sick when you took it the first time. -conjunction
I'll let you rewrite the test, because of your special circumstances. - preposition

because is a conjunction, and must be followed by a clause- something that contains a verb. because of is a preposition, and must be followed by a noun, pronoun, noun phrase or noun clause. In your example, it is followed by a noun phrase "your special circumstances".

You can analyse sentences with considering and given in more than one way. You could say that they are both prepositions, or you could say that considering is a present participle and given is an past participle. If you go for the participle analysis, the participle and what follows is a participle clause, which plays an adverbial role in the sentence. If you go for the preposition analysis, it's a preposition phrase, which also plays an adverbial role in the sentence.

Yes, you can use other verbs to form participle clauses:

I'll let you rewrite the test, knowing your special circumstances
I'll let you rewrite the test, taking into account your special circumstances

Note that "rewrite a test" is American English. British speakers would say "retake" or "resit".
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